Chará began his career in the youth ranks of
Deportes Quindío. In 2004, he moved up to the senior side and became an important player for Quindío. The talented midfielder made 124 league appearances and scored two goals while with Quindío. As a result of his play, he began to draw the attention of the top clubs in Colombia and in 2009 joined
América de Cali. In one year with the club, Chará made 31 league appearances and scored one goal. The following season, he joined
Deportes Tolima and was a key player in his club's run to the quarter-finals of the
2010 Copa Sudamericana. The following season, he helped Tolima qualify to the
2011 Copa Libertadores. During the 2011 Copa Libertadores Chará appeared in seven games, and provided an assist in a 2–0 win over Brazilian power
Corinthians in the early stages of the tournament. As a result of his play during the Copa Libertadores run, Chará started to receive interest from
Major League Soccer side
Portland Timbers. In April 2011, Chará signed with Portland and became the club's first ever
Designated Player. Chará made his club debut April 23 at
LA Galaxy, coming on as a second-half sub. On 20 August, he scored his first goal in MLS after just 78 seconds of Portland's home match against
Cascadia Cup rivals
Vancouver Whitecaps FC. It broke the record for the fastest MLS goal for the club. Chará became the second Major League Soccer player to record more than 30,000 minutes for a single club on 19 March 2023, during a 5–1 loss to
Atlanta United. ==International career==